As evening approached...
"Don't rush, Naruto. Chakra is always unstable when first extracted. You've already grasped the fundamental knowledge of chakra. Just follow the proper steps in your training. After all, you've only just started learning about chakra and ninjutsu," said the Third Hokage.
Seeing Naruto repeatedly attempt to extract chakra, then finally form the In hand seal to perform the Transformation Jutsu, only to suddenly freeze, the Third Hokage thought he was discouraged by multiple failures and offered him words of comfort.
"I understand, Lord Hokage. Thank you for your patience and guidance!"
Naruto lowered his head in brief contemplation, then released the Transformation Jutsu he had prepared and solemnly bowed to the Third Hokage.
"Hehe! Little Naruto, remember what you said earlier—work hard. I'll visit you whenever I have time," the Third Hokage said, showing his gentle smile once again.
"Of course! I will definitely work hard!" Naruto knew that the Hokage's home visit was coming to an end.
The Third Hokage left.
As he descended the stairs and stepped out the door, a fleeting trace of guilt flashed through his eyes. Naruto's behavior was completely unlike that of a normal child.
At first, he had wanted to place Naruto in an orphanage.
But the orphanage was controlled by Root.
And Root would never relinquish control of the orphanage, as it served as a crucial foundation for their recruitment. Even as the Hokage, he had no authority to interfere. The political structure of Konoha was not dictated by the Hokage alone.
So who was the leader of Root?
Shimura Danzo!
His childhood friend had now fully embraced darkness, becoming increasingly ruthless in his methods. While he himself bore some responsibility for indulging Danzo, a Jinchuriki must never fall under Danzo's control.
The Nine-Tails had to remain under the Hokage's authority. This wasn't just about maintaining peace in the ninja world—it was also about Konoha's survival!
Thinking of this, the Third Hokage regained his determined gaze, took off his Hokage hat, and gently placed it back on. There were still many government affairs to handle in his office—he had already delayed too much time today.
From the upstairs window, Naruto watched as an Anbu member, stationed near the entrance, swiftly stepped forward and shut the door the moment the Hokage left.
This left him feeling slightly uncomfortable.
It reminded him of historical dramas from his past life, where prisoners were visited by outsiders—only for the jailers to hastily lock the doors the moment the visitor left, as if afraid the prisoner would seize the chance to escape.
However, today's success in extracting chakra had officially opened the path to training—this was great!
A glint of sharpness flashed in Naruto's eyes as he carefully closed the window. Then, he walked into his bedroom and sat on his bed, preparing to extract chakra again following the method he had just learned.
「Minimum energy threshold met! Do you wish to activate the Mirror World?」
As soon as Naruto sensed energy flowing through his body, he immediately heard a system prompt in his mind!
"So it wasn't an illusion! This invitation still exists!"
He had already heard this voice once before—when he first successfully extracted chakra and was about to perform the Transformation Jutsu. That was the moment he had suddenly frozen.
Even when the Third Hokage had mistaken his hesitation for discouragement and tried to console him, this voice continued to repeat in his mind every ten seconds. That's when he realized—he was the only one who could hear it.
Since he didn't know what would happen if he activated this so-called Mirror World, he had cautiously refused the invitation at the time. The voice had vanished.
Now that the Hokage had just left, he tried to summon the invitation again, but nothing happened.
After confirming he was safe, he concluded that this invitation was linked to his chakra.
Sure enough, as soon as he extracted a certain amount of chakra, the invitation reappeared.
「Do you wish to activate the Mirror World?」
After contemplating for a few seconds, Naruto chose to activate it.
A floating interface suddenly appeared, displaying strings of text, accompanied by a mechanical voice slowly resounding in his mind.
"Activating Mirror World..."
"Transmitting user manual..."
"Transmission complete!
Current Bound User: Uzumaki Naruto
Current Authority: Level 1 Lord of the World"
"Collecting data from the current world... Data completion: 1%. Please continue to enhance data..."
"Activation complete. Welcome to the Mirror World!"
The moment all the sounds stopped, Naruto's mind shifted—without any preparation, he suddenly found himself in a different space.
His eyes focused.
He was standing at the entrance of Konoha Village.
On either side of the gate stood Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki.
They looked exactly the same as in reality, but completely devoid of any sign of life.
Through the user manual, Naruto understood—these were puppets, manifested data copies of real people.
And this Konoha was just a duplicated scene.
By challenging these puppets in the Mirror World, he could earn rewards and ratings regardless of whether he won or lost.
For example, he could gain the puppet's training experience and jutsu, and if his rating was high, he might even receive greater rewards.
Of course, there were rules to how challenges worked.
His presence here was only a projection of his consciousness, sustained by chakra. Due to the low data completion, every visit consumed a portion of his chakra, and when depleted, he would be forced out.
Naturally, he could also choose to exit at any time.
Injuries sustained here wouldn't affect his real body but would consume his mental energy, and the time flow was different from the real world.
"Having a world like this... isn't this basically a cheat?"
After struggling to survive cautiously for four years, he finally had something that could help him grow strong.
Excited, Naruto walked up to Izumo Kamizuki. A floating prompt immediately appeared.
「Do you wish to initiate a challenge?」
Naruto chose yes without hesitation.
A calm, emotionless voice rang out.
"Attention! Your projected chakra has a 10-minute challenge duration!"
The moment the announcement ended, his vision blurred.
He and Izumo were instantly transported onto a battle arena.
Izumo, who had been lifeless just a second ago, suddenly seemed completely alive.
Just as Naruto was about to marvel at how realistic the Mirror World was, he saw Izumo inhale deeply and form a hand seal.
"Fire Release! Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Shi—"
Before he could even curse, a one-meter-wide fireball came hurtling toward him.
Naruto froze.
And just like that—his first battle ended.
The next thing he knew, he and Izumo were back at the Konoha gate.
The whole thing had lasted three seconds.
"...I got one-shotted."
Naruto mocked himself.
But he remembered—Izumo and Kotetsu were both Chunin-level. He had only just learned how to extract chakra. Losing was expected.
However—didn't the manual say you earn rewards regardless of winning or losing?
Where was his reward?!
Maybe... he lost too badly.
After pondering for nearly two minutes, Naruto decided to try again.
This time, he ran like crazy the moment the battle started.
"I refuse to get one-shotted again!"
Then, Izumo disappeared.
Reappearing right in front of him.
"Shit! That's the Body Flicker Jutsu!"
And then—
"Water Release! Syrup Capture Field!"
Izumo... spat out a huge puddle of sticky water.
Naruto stepped right into it.
And once again—he lost.
But this time—
"Congratulations! You have gained Izumo Kamizuki's Great Fireball Jutsu training experience!"
______________________________________________
If you want 20 chapters ahead, check out my Patreon:
patreon.com/PureParadox